Nick Piantanida

Nicholas "Nick" Piantanida ( born August 15, 1932 † 29 August 1966 Worthington ( Minnesota)) was an American paratroopers who attempted great media attention in 1965 and 1966, the on 16 August 1960 prepared by Joseph Kittinger world record to break for a parachute jump from the stratosphere ( 31 332 meters ) and thereby lost his life.

In the first of three balloon rides on October 22, 1965 forced him malfunction of the balloon, already at an altitude of almost 5000 meters to climb out of the gondola and disappoint with a mistrial instead of a stratospheric jump observers and the press.

A few months later material and sponsors were found for another attempt. On February 2, 1966, he reached in his balloon, a new record high of 37,643 meters, but not succeeded to solve its necessary for the jump space suit from the oxygen supply hose to the gondola. To rescue the balloon was abandoned and released from the gondola, finally, after a free-fall at about 600 kilometers per hour slowed in the Piantanida of a parachute, returned to Earth. Because of the separation of the balloon ride by the Fédération Aéronautique International was not officially recognized as the altitude record.

Already on May 1, 1966 launched a third attempt, which was initially successful. After well over 17,000 meters were already achieved, the uprooting of manifest, but has yet to be clarified incident from the radio link, so that once abandoned the main balloon of the ground crew as three months before and the cable was landed after 26 minutes on the parachute. Piantanida was moaning, but unconscious rescued and taken to a nearby hospital without any special device for altitude decompression. It was found that had opened for an unknown reason, the visor of the helmet and he lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen and due to the insufficient supply of the brain fell into a coma. He awoke from the coma and no longer died four months later.